Apple, Facebook and Microsoft, among other companies, will make headlines next year as the tech world rapidly evolves.

Everything mobile moved to the forefront this year. Mobile hardware was at the heart of everything, led by companies like Apple ( AAPL) and, to a lesser extent, Google ( GOOG) and Amazon ( AMZN). Mobile payments were provided by Square and eBay's ( EBAY) PayPal. Mobile shopping was done on Amazon and a variety of other flash-sites and daily-deal shopping.

That theme won't change in 2013, though there may be fewer products and more services, software and games.

On the following pages is an outlook, including the possibility of an Apple TV and the fate of certain handset makers.